


Fresh-Kill

by bonespell



Series: Faronclan AU [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Faronclan Canon Divergence, Linked Universe, This is not my fault, harestep stands by his idiot even if he isn’t sure why exactly, it’s shark’s warrior cats au, rabbitwhisker just wants his friend to Live, they’re faronclan, this was a whole debate on the faronclan discord we even have images, yes this is a warrior cats au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:40:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25558234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonespell/pseuds/bonespell
Summary: “Please don’t eat him,” He blurts, and Harestep feels his fight-or-flight kick in. This is not a situation he needs to be part of.Willowthorn brushes past him. In his ear, she hisses, “Do something about this. I can’t get anything done.”“You barely do anything anyways,” Harestep mutters to himself as she passes.
Series: Faronclan AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852108
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Fresh-Kill

**Author's Note:**

> dearest shark,
> 
> lmao i win
> 
> regards,   
> kayla

Harestep is met with an unusual sight when he enters the medicine cat den to see Rabbitwhisker sitting in the corner, back unnaturally straight. He’s wide-eyed, and Harestep thinks he can smell the fear radiating off him. 

“What’s wrong?” He demands, and Rabbitwhisker physically _jumps_ at the noise. At that moment, it clicks.

The clan is short on food. Winter is closing in, and the prey is just gone. Nobody’s quite sure as to why. And hiding behind Rabbitwhisker (more accurately, what Rabbitwhisker is sitting on), is that dumb pigeon he’d picked up.

“Nothing,” Rabbitwhisker says quickly. “Nothing’s wrong, I just- I-”

“Stop,” Harestep sighs. “Just… I know you’re sitting on Sheerow. You’re going to suffocate him.”

“Please don’t eat him,” He blurts, and Harestep feels his fight-or-flight kick in. This is not a situation he needs to be part of.

Willowthorn brushes past him. In his ear, she hisses, “Do something about this. I can’t get anything done.”

“You barely do anything anyways,” Harestep mutters to himself as she passes. She doesn’t seem to hear, and if she does, she doesn’t seem to care. He supposes he did let Rabbitwhisker keep the bird. This is sort of his problem. _Rabbitwhisker_ is sort of his problem.

“Please don’t let them eat him,” Rabbitwhisker says again. He’s curled himself around the dumb bird, and his claws are out. He’s shaking like a leaf, but if Harestep makes any kind of negative advancement, he thinks Rabbitwhisker may actually try to fight him off.

“Calm down,” He says finally. “I’m not going to eat him. Where did you even get the idea?”

“I was out bringing herbs to the elders today… and Sheerow came along. Wakepaw was by the fresh kill, and he… he said that we were going to eat Sheerow next. That he was good food. I think- I think he’s serious.”

“I…” Harestep’s not sure where to go from here. On one paw, Wakepaw is right about Sheerow being food. He’s fat, and he could at least feed the kits. The pigeon is dumb, too. He wouldn’t try to run. But on the other paw, Rabbitwhisker cares about the thing more than Harestep thinks he’s cared about anything besides another cat _ever_. He can’t be the one to take that away from him.

“Don’t let them eat him,” Rabbitwhisker says. “They’ll try, Harestep. They’re right that he’s good food, but I love him, they can’t eat him.”

“Rabbitwhisker, you know that in the end I can’t stop them. His life doesn’t matter a whisker. Maybe you should just send him away.”

Harestep had been trying for comforting, but it doesn’t seem to have worked. Rabbitwhisker tenses up even further. Sheerow drowsily squawks in protest, and he relaxes almost instantly. “Sorry, buddy,” He mutters, nosing at the pigeon. Sheerow doesn’t react.

It’s pitiful, Harestep thinks. Rabbitwhisker is trembling and upset and Harestep doesn’t understand how he gets so attached. He knows, though, that for some starclan-forsaken reason, _he’s_ attached, so he has to try to resolve the situation.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Rushfang, do you have a moment?” Harestep asks, padding up to the deputy in the middle of camp. He’s grooming himself, and looks otherwise unoccupied.

“What do you need?” Rushfang asks without looking up.

“I’m sure you know of Rabbitwhisker’s pigeon, right? Well - and I fully understand how weird this sounds - Wakepaw and some others are threatening to add him to the fresh-kill pile. Rabbitwhisker is incredibly distressed over it. It’s hindering his ability to work. Maybe.. call them off?”

Rushfang meets his eyes. “Harestep, he’s food. He’s a bird that we could feed to someone. You understand how rare food is now. How at-risk we are for this leaf-bare. He’s… Wakepaw is right.”

Harestep curls his lip at that. While it may be technically correct, he’s not fond of the notion of them taking away Rabbitwhisker’s best friend. He depends on that pigeon. He takes it out to look for herbs. Hell, Sheerow’s even learned how to fetch certain things when Rabbitwhisker can’t. On top of that, Sheerow’s content to listen to Rabbitwhisker talk for hours.

Even Harestep can’t say he does that, and he considers Rabbitwhisker _his_ best friend.

“All due respect,” Harestep drawls slowly, “I don’t think I do understand. The need to slaughter an animal who’s basically part of this clan, that is.”

Both his words and the way he says it seem to have the desired effect on Rushfang. He rises to his feet, ears flattened against his head. The pair stare at eachother for a long moment before Rushfang huffs disbelievingly, and stalks away.

  
  
  
  
  
  


By the next sunrise, the entire clan knows of the dilemma.

They’ve formed into two seperate groups- one for Sheerow’s life, one to eat him. Harestep has taken to sticking by Rabbitwhisker’s side at all times, while Rabbitwhisker cautiously carries the little bird around. He gets glares and jeers from the other ‘team’, and Harestep is disgusted to watch the effect they have on his friend.

This is exactly what he signed up to get away from when he and Rabbitwhisker joined the clan. The clan was under the notion of family, under the impression that they could be together through anything. Harestep wonders how stable this clan was if this was all it took to bring it to the verge of a civil war.

Kitewing falls into step beside Harestep. “Are you doing alright?” He asks, and Harestep lets some of the tension bleed from his stance. 

“Really, Rabbitwhisker is the one you should be asking that question,” He huffs bitterly.

“But I’m asking you,” Kitewing insists gently. “You’re putting yourself under a lot of stress to protect both that bird and Rabbitwhisker.”

“It’s sort of my job.”

“How so?”

“Well,” Harestep begins, “Back when I was just Hare, and living alone, he came to me for food. For shelter. He made a joke about how we matched, ‘cause we were Rabbit and Hare. He stayed for food and shelter, too. He kept me company, and in exchange I protected him. I can’t leave him alone now. Protecting him is my job first, clan or not. Cause if this does split us, he’s someone I know I’ll always have in my corner. I have to do the same for him.”

“I understand that,” Kitewing responds. “Sunleap and Goosefire are both sort of my responsibility. That isn’t to say they aren’t capable - they are, extremely so - but I just… feel obligated. I was the one who pushed to leave. To come here and find a new life. If anything goes wrong, it’s my responsibility to make sure they get back alive.”

“Looks like we’re on the same path, then.”

“Seems so. Take care of yourself too, okay? You need to do that,” Kitewing says, branching off and heading towards Sunleap and Goosefire from where they’re about to go on patrol.

“Yeah,” Harestep responds, tensing again when Rabbitwhisker presses closer as they walk, his ears flat against his head in fear.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Why do you stick up for the pigeon?” Duskheart asks that sundown, while they’re eating their share in silence. Harestep will gladly admit it’s measly. His stomach aches for something filling.

“What do you mean?” Harestep asks, attempting to feign nonchalance.

“You think we won’t notice?” Duskheart responds, amused. “You get aggressive and defensive whenever someone brings him up, and you won’t leave the damn bird alone.”  
  


“I don’t care about the bird,” He snaps, turning away. He doesn’t have time for this conversation.

“That’s news to me,” Duskheart laughs, dropping the issue. Harestep growls in frustration.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Thicketstar hops up on the tallest rock, and the clan silences. There’s no need for announcement, they know what this is about. They know why this meeting is happening.

“I cannot say we’re not hungry,” Thicketstar begins, and someone yowls in agreement. He stares at the crowd for a moment before continuing.

“And I have put a lot of thought into this issue and how to approach it. I don’t want to hurt a member of our own clan the way any outcome to this would, so I’ve done my best. As attached as he may be, the clan must come first. That is the oath you all swore.”

Harestep doesn’t like where this is going.

“Against my own empathetic wishes, I’ve decided it’s in our best interest to eat the bird. My sincerest apologies to Rabbitwhisker. You have with him until sunrise. Adjourned.”

Harestep’s head turns towards the medicine cat den so fast he thinks he hurts his neck. Rabbitwhisker’s face is somewhere between shock and terror, and grim acceptance. The feeling it conveys makes Harestep do what he does next.

Harestep sets forward to challenge the order, but before he does, Hazelfoot slides past him.

The red she-cat breezes to the front of the crowd, before announcing, “Don’t you think this is a little insensitive, Thicketstar? I mean, the bird is a pet. I truly could care less either way, but you’re hurting your clan here by doing this.”

“Hazelfoot,” Thicketstar says. He looks like it pains him. Good, Harestep thinks. He should feel bad. 

Kitewing and Sunleap also push to the front, standing with Hazelfoot. 

“All due respect, but the bird is incredibly important to Rabbitwhisker,” Sunleap points out, and Kitewing nods.

Harestep watches as the clan seriously separates into two sides. He also notices that the side for Sheerow’s survival is blocking the entrance to the medicine den. He takes his place.

The argument goes on, and voices begin to get raised. Finally, Thicketstar does something that, if Harestep was any more naive, he’d call a roar.

“I made my choice,” He spits. “As sorry as I am, I’d rather eat the bird than watch my clan starve. Go back to your duties. All of you.”

“Ha!” Wakepaw jeers, and Harestep gives him a nasty look. It shuts him up instantly.

  
  
  
  
  


Harestep wakes up to use the dirtplace when the moon is highest, and immediately his eyes narrow. He can hear meowing from outside. He exits the Warriors den and also the camp, and sees Rabbitwhisker, with Sheerow in front of him. Rabbitwhisker is swiping at the bird.

As Harestep gets closer, he can hear what he’s saying, too.

“You gotta leave! Gotta go! They’re gonna eat you, Sheerow! Leave!”

Harestep decides to make himself known. He feels too bad to leave it be.

Rabbitwhisker must jump a foot in the air once he’s seen. He steps in front of the bird, but then realises who he is, and hangs his head guiltily.

“I’m sorry,” He says. “I know- I know it’s selfish, but I don’t want him to die. He won’t leave, Harestep. What do I do?”

“I’m sorry too,” Harestep says, instead of answering. There’s nothing they can do. “It was my job to protect you, and as an extension, him. Now they’re gonna kill your best friend. I failed you. I’m sorry.”

“They’re gonna kill you?” Rabbitwhisker squeaks. Harestep is confused.

“...No? They’re gonna kill Sheerow. You know, your best friend.”

“You’re my best friend, Harestep,” Rabbitwhisker says softly. He’s stopped trying to flick Sheerow away. He’s instead allowed the pigeon to nestle into his fur.

“I- what?”

“You went up against half the clan, including our leader to protect him. No ordinary friend would have done that. Half my ordinary friends want to eat him.”

Harestep laughs, just a little. He knows it’s inappropriate, but then Rabbitwhisker begins to laugh, too. Harestep gently nudges him back in the direction of camp. Rabbitwhisker goes.

  
  
  
  
  
  


When sunrise rolls around, Sheerow is thrown into the middle of camp and pinned. Harestep stares at the scared bird with a sad expression. Everyone who was for eating him yesterday is now looking uncomfortable. Harestep can tell why.

Rabbitwhisker is giving them his best sad eyes, and they’re absolutely incredibly effective. Harestep could never resist them - still can’t, years later - and suddenly they don’t want to kill the bird.

“You do it,” Silverclaw says to Rushfang, who looks away uncomfortably. He defers the responsibility to Wakepaw.

This continues on for a while. They keep shoving the job onto eachother. With each denial, forbidden hope sparks in Harestep’s traitorous chest. He knows Sheerow is going to die, but for a moment-

“If nobody is going to do it, just let him go,” Willowthorn finally interjects lazily. “No point in torturing the poor thing.”

Thicketstar lifts his paw off the bird, and he immediately takes his spot back on Rabbitwhisker’s head. Rabbitwhisker looks elated. Nobody’s going to kill Sheerow. He won. They won.


End file.
